Reaching women through their HIV-positive
male partners: The PRO Men Initiative
Shannon Weber1,3, Guy Vandenberg2,3, Deborah Cohan1,3
1HIVE/BAPAC, 2Positive
Introduction
PRO Men (Positive Reproductive Outcomes for Men)
is an initiative of HIVE/BAPAC based at San
Francisco General Hospital’s (SFGH) Ward 86 HIV
Clinic.
• ~500 HIV-positive men who have sex with women
receive care at Ward 86 HIV Clinic.
• aims to engage men to determine their reproductive
health intentions
• support clinicians integrating reproductive health care
into the primary care setting.
• launched in 2012 with the collaboration expanding in
2013 to include SFGH’s Family HIV Clinic
• close coordination allows female partners of HIVpositive men are able receive prompt, expert clinical
care around their sexual and reproductive health
decisions including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP)
and contraception.
Health Program, 3University of California San Francisco
Methods
To inform video production, patient and provider tool creation and
program development we:
• Led focus groups with HIV-positive men who have sex with
women to determine their experiences and beliefs about HIV
prevention and transmission, family planning and safer
conception options
• Conducted thought leader interviews with experts on safer
conception, family planning, HIV transmission, adherence and
disclosure
• Reviewed calls to UCSFs National Perinatal HIV Hotline
highlighting clinicians’ questions and consultation needs
Monthly PRO Men support groups launched in 2013, additional
videos were produced and in collaboration with the San Francisco
AIDS Education and Training Center a provider education event
was held.
Summary/Conclusions
We are at an incredible time of promise in the HIV epidemic
with the knowledge needed to eliminate sexual HIV
transmission.
• Many HIV-positive men in the PRO Men initiative
report a desire to have a family but also say they’ve
never been asked by their providers whether they
want to have a child.
Supporting men living with HIV in achieving their sexual
and reproductive health goals is an integrated treatment
and prevention strategy.
• Their HIV-negative female partners report stigma
from family, friends and medical providers around
their goals to conceive.
The PRO Men approach provides a unique opportunity to
reach HIV-uninfected female partners of HIV-positive men.
The PRO Men model for integrating sexual and
reproductive health care into the primary care setting an
opportunity to reframe the story from one of risk reduction
and permission to a story of possibility and hope.
Results
During 2014:
• 44 men sought a one-on-one visit with the PRO Men nurse
yielding 73 total visits
• 7 men brought their HIV-negative female partner for a couple visit
• 7 women attended clinic for a one-on-one partner visit with the
PRO Men nurse
• 13 women were referred for HIV-testing and screening for preexposure prophylaxis
• 40 providers sought 54 consultations.
All photos by: Ryan Anson
An unanticipated benefit of promoting the PRO Men support group
is the increased one-on-one conversations with patients who reveal
questions related to their own sexual or reproductive health.
Contact:
Shannon Weber
[email protected]